Health Informatics: Why is it Different from Other Healthcare Tech Degrees?

If you’re a tech whiz, there’s an emerging field of study that combines information technology, clinical practice and business management that might interest you. It’s called health informatics, and it’s all about how technology can improve the way health data are collected, stored, processed and communicated.

Health informatics programs are outnumbered by related programs that have been around longer, such as health information technology or health information management. Those tend to focus more on day-to-day management of patient and health systems data.

Here’s a breakdown of some other key differences among these fields, which are in high demand as health care providers scramble to modernize the way they track the care patients receive: